As is well known to those skilled in the art, hydrocarbons may be converted to a variety of products. Among the problems which have been encountered in such processes are (i) the problem of control of the reaction to yield preferred products; (ii) the problem of initiating the reaction to permit attainment of satisfactory yields of product by reaction at moderate conditions; and (iii) the problem of increasing the rate of reaction so as to minimize the size of the reactor required to produce desired amount of product.
In prior art processes wherein nitrogen compounds such as n-butyl nitrite have been reacted with hydrocarbons such as cyclohexane, the principal reaction products are found to be nitro-compounds. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,883,433 shows reaction, at elevated temperature and pressure in an oxygen-free environment, of cyclohexane and n-butyl nitrite to give 32% yield of the desired nitrocyclohexane "and oxidation products in 5.6% yield". Reaction is carried out at 140.degree. - 300.degree. C and pressure greater than 125 psig. When the reaction temperature was lowered from 145.degree. C down to 125.degree. C, "no nitration occurred". The reaction is characterized as occurring "without the formation of appreciable quantities of undesired oxidation products".
It is known -- Chow et al., Canadian Journal of Chemistry, Vol. 48, 1970, pages 508-511 -- that in the presence of light and oxygen, 1-octyl nitrite inter alia may be photolyzed to produce 1-octyl nitrate. Similar results are achieved for 1-pentyl nitrite, etc. Reactions of NO.sub.x or of nitrites are set forth also in Emanual et al, Liquid Phase Oxidation of Hydrocarbons, Plenum Press (1967) and in Walling, Free Radicals in Solution, J. Wiley (1957).
These references are characterized inter alia by the production of various nitrogen-containing compositions. They do not desire to produce oxygenated compounds (with minimum production of nitrogen-containing compounds); and they do not succeed in producing oxygen-containing compounds. See also U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,992 (of the instant inventor) for additional background.